Method of making playing balls



June 27,1933. I s. c. WORTI-IIINGTON 1 METHOD OF MAKING PLAYING BALLS Original Filed Nov. 10; 1927 INVENTOR WQW BY I ATT2JRNEY3 Patented June 27, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE GEORGE c. wonrnmemoir, or ELYRIA', onIo, AssIeNon TO THE won'rnmerou BALL I comm, or ELYaIA, 01110, A conrona'rron or 01110 METHOD OF MAKING PLAYING BALLS Application filed November 10, 1927, Serial No. 232,449; "Renewed November 1 2, 1931.

This invention relates to a method of making playing balls, especially golf balls, and to such ball itself.

As is well known, virtually all golf balls are made at the present time by winding rubber thread or tape around the center to form what There are many interstics amon g thecrossed overlapping threads. On top of the core'the cover is formed. The duties of the cover are wquite onerous, .It must confine the. core; it

must yield to theblows without .unduly 1mpairing the flight distance ofuthe ball; it must resist great abuse and maintain the color and the marks on the ball. The connection between the cover and the core should be such as to maintain the two in close connection during a most severe. usage which includes the deformation of the ball under the impact of the club and the ground." In addition to all these things, the material in the cover must bel enduring and rotect the core from the weather and fromw'ater, etc.

The objects of this inyention are to produce a ball and a process for-making a ball having a more durable and more compact cover, and which cover it is substantially impossible to loosen from the core even in the most severe usage to which impact of the club; to reduce the necessary cover thickness; to produce a ball using less cover material, which will therefore be more I scriptions thereof which will follow.

economical.

These and other objects of my invention will be better understood from particular de- Fig. 1 illustrates a core of a golf ball composedof rubber thread wound under tension 'Ei'g 4 illustrates a sheet used in forming a so-called thiiilialf shell; and g the ball is submitted; to pro-' duce a ball which will fly. farther'under the 5 illustrates one of these sheets folded up into a half shell.

The core is made up in the regular way by winding rubber thread or tapeunder tension upon the center and when completed consists of a sphere presenting anoutward surface consisting of thethread or tape wound in turns promiscuously over each other and containing recesses among the winding. 'I'apply to the core thus formed cover stock comprising a mixturewhich is composed of such a gum as balata, gutta percha or other bastard gum which has been dissolved in a solution of benzol or someother suitable hydrocarbon, .and which is in a plastic when applied. The balata, gutta percha or other bastard. gum which is used ispreferably refined beforehand. A preferred percentage of such a mixture consists of a quarter of a pound ofrsucli gum to a quart ofben- Z01. The preferred way of applymg this material, to the core is toj-placesome of it in the handsof an operator who rubs it intd, the surface of the core, distributing it uniform- 1y. over the surface, in the presence of a draft of air which may be created by a fan adjar cent the hands of the operator, the current of air from the fan drying. the hydrocarbon gum solution as it is applied. -A very thin layer of the hydrocarbon gum solution is thus applied. The thickness of this layer may be varied, but,a uniform layer of -inch issuitable and perhaps preferable. When thus dried the hydrocarbon-gum mixture adheres to the rubber tape, sealing the contiguous portions of the tape together.

A very close union between the outer portions of the core themselves and between the layer of hydrocarbon-gum thus deposited on the outer surface of the core is thus made.

, This layer of hydrocarbon-gum material forms the first layer 'ofthe cover and serves to firmly unitethe cover with the core, and

'in such a wav that adjacent sections of'the cover and the core follow each other faithful- 1y even during the most severe deflections.

The core with the first layer. of the cover. thus formed on the same, as has been described, is then dipped into a hydrocarbongum material such as has already been described as forming the first layer of the cover. Each time that the core is dipped a stratum of the material adheres to the outer surface thereof. The dipping is continued until thethickness of the'cover is increased to the desired extent; The cores may be mounted upon racksby pins inserted in the cores and connected to the rack, and large numbers of the cores may be dipped at the same time into the solution. The number of digpings may vary to suit the varying con ltions which may exist. Each; time the ball is dipped a new stratum is formed. Thissecondaddition to the cover is preferably about of an inch thick.-

The cores with the first two layers of the cover thus placed on them are then thoroughly dried. The preferred way to dry them is to place them in a drying room for ten days or' two weeks.

After the drying is completed, the thlrd and last layer of the cover is placedu on.

the ball. This is done by forming two t in half shells of a suitable cover stock. I refer to use refined balata, and to form the alf shells by cutting discs of a suitable size out of a thin sheet of balata. The best size for the disc is about three inches in diameter.

gral with the core resu ts.

the half shells.

I then out two radial slits, about one inch and a quarter in length each, on the same diameter so as to permit the formation of These discs are illustrated in Fig. 4 and the half shell just described in Fig. 5. Two or more of these half shells are then applied to the ball containing the first two layers of the cover, and the ball with the half shells is placed in a mold which is.

formed, is sin larly free from defects.

Each portion 0 the cover is substantially.

as strong and .as durable as all the other portions. The formation of flaws, fissures or other such defects-is in such a cover, readily neity an the uniformit of the'cover, it can be made thinner than t e ordinary cover of a golf 'ball which owing to possible defects,

must be madethick so as to contain a certain .safety factor. Makingthe cover thin in this way not only econgmizes materials, but it lengthens the flight of the ball under .'the im act 'of the club because there is not so muc cover to deflect. The inner layers of the core, of course, are held in position by the tendon of the outer layers, and the outer grevented. -Becausef of the homoge-v layers of the core are held in position by the first layer of the cover. Under no circumstances can the core separate from the cover or can the core start to unwind, which it has a tendency to do owing to the fact that the rubber thread or tape is under tension and tends to contract if loosened. .The process presents the further advantage of insuring a cover made not only of the best material, butof the best material uniformly applied. All foreign substances can be excluded from materials applied in the manner in which the materials in .this cover are applied.

I have seen fit to describe only one embodiment of my invention in this application, using generic descriptions of certain of the features and steps. It will be understood that I am not limited to this particular embodiment and to the particular features and steps which I have described for I contemplate variations in both thefeatures and steps within appropriate range of equivalency.

I claim 1. The method of making a playing ball which consists in forming a substantially spherical core by winding rubber thread or tape upon itself leaving recesses among the turns at the surface, applying at least one relatively thin layer of a plastic cover stock solution tothe exterior of the core and forcing the same into the recesses thereof, drying the said cover stock layer, then dipping theresulting ball a plurality of times into a plastic solution of cover stock to add at each di ing an additional thickness of cover stoc rym the ball, and then wrapping thin la era 0 sheet cover stock about the ball, su jecting the same to heat and pressure and merging the parts of the stock cover together to form a complete integral cover.

ing the same into the recesses thereof, drying the said cover stock layer, then dipping the resultin ball a plurality of'times into a plastic solution of cover stock to add at each di sing an additional thickness of cover stoc sheet cover stock rylng the ball, forming into a.plurality of cup-like cover elements, -distributingthem around the ball to enclose the same erewithin, subjecting the-cover elements and the ball to heat and pressure and merging the parts of/the stock cover together to form a complete integral cover.

3. The method of making a playing ball which consists informing a substantially spherical core by winding rubber thread or tape upon itselfleaving recesses among the turns at the surface, applying at least one relatively thin layer of a plastic cover stock solution to the exterior of the core and forcing the same into the recesses thereof, drying the said cover stock layer, then dipping the resulting ball a plurality of times into a plastie solution of cover stock to add at each dipping an additional thickness of cover stock, drying the ball, forming sheet cover stock into a plurality of discs having radial slits therein, folding the discs into cup-like cover 1 elements with portions of the sheet adjacent the slits overlapping, distributing the cover elements around the ball to enclose the same therewithin, subjecting the same to heat and pressure and merging the parts of the stock cover together to form a complete integral cover.

4. The method of making a playing ball which consists in forming a substantially spherical core by winding rubber thread or tape upon itself leaving recesses among the turns at the surface, applying at least one relatively thin layer of a plastic cover stock solution to the exterior of the core and forc-' ing the same into the recesses thereof, drying 25 the said cover stock layer, then applying to the resulting ball a. plastic solution of cover stock to add an additional thickness of cover stock, drying the ball, and then applying a thin layer of sheet cover stock to the ball,

stock, drying the ball, formin sheet 'cover' stock into a pluralityvof cup-1i e cover elements, distributing them around the ball to enclose the same therewithin, subjecting the cover elements and the ball to heat and pres-- sure and merging the parts of the stock cover together to form a complete'integral cover. 6.,The method of ma ing a playing ball which consists in forming a substantially spherical core by. winding rubber thread or r tape upon itself leaving recesses among the turns at the surface, applying at least one relatively thin layer of a plastic cover stock solution to the exterior of the core and forcing the same into the recesses thereof, dryto the resulting ball a plastic solution of cover stock to add an additional thickness of cover stock, drying the ball, forming sheet cover stock into a-plurality of discshaving radial slits therein, folding the discs into cup-like oover elements with portions of the sheet adsubjecting the same to heat and pressure ing the said cover stock layer, then applying jacent the slits overlapping, distributing the cover elements around the ball to enclose the same therewithin, subjecting the same to heat and pressure and merging the parts of the stock cover together to form a complete integral cover.

'Z. As'an article of manufacture, a golf ball comprising a substantially spherical core having a winding of rubber thread or tape wound upon itself with interstices among the turns of the surface, a plurality of successive relatively thin layers of dried plastic cover stock'solution superposed thereover and lining andsubstantially filling the interstices thereof, and a thin layer of sheet cover stock Wrapped thereover and merged therewith. Y

8. As an article of manufacture, a golf ball comprising a substantially spherical core having a winding of rubber thread or tape wound upon itself'having interstices among the turns of the surface, a plurality of successive relatively thin layers of dried plastic cover stock solution superposed thereover and lining and substantially filling the interstices thereof, and a cover formed from a plurality of cup-like sheet cover stock elements, distributed around and upon the ball enclosing the same therewithin.

9. As an article of manufacture, a golf ball comprising a substantially spherical core having a winding of rubber thread or 'tape' wound upon itself having interstices among the turns of the surface, a plurality of successive relatively thin layers of dried plastic cover stock solution superposed thereover and lining and substantially filling the interstices thereof, a cover formed from a plurality .of sheet cover stock discs having radial slits therein, the discs comprising cup-like cover elements with portions of the sheet adjacent the slits overlapping and distributed about the ball enclosing the same therewithin and merged therewith and forming a complete integral cover.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 8th day of November 1927.

GEORGE o. WoRrHINToN. 

